Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday announced the establishment of his national policy advisory group.
Han unveiled the names of 100 advisers on his team, saying that there were another 100 whose names were temporarily withheld from the public due to their other roles.
Former premier Simon Chang (張善政), convener of the team, said that many of its members were “very worried” about Taiwan’s future.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Han said that he had not been aware that so many people were so perturbed prior to extending the invitation.
He said that his platform was simple and that he wanted Taiwan to be safe and for its people to be wealthy, adding that President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has over the past three-and-a-half years led Taiwan in the opposite direction.
Failure in international diplomacy has led to tenser cross-strait relations, while a lack of success in domestic policies has led to heightened tensions in society, as well as worried industries, Han said.
The Tsai administration should endeavor to convince the Taiwanese public that it can lead them to safety and prosperity, Han said, adding that it should convince the people who have supported the Democratic Progressive Party for so long.
The Tsai administration has released numerous white papers, but often the policies they contain are not backed up by action, he said.
Han said that his campaign would not only provide a policy platform, but also state how it would achieve its goals.
The advisory group was primarily established to help provide important policies, as well as help his campaign office interact with the nation’s industries, he said.
Separately yesterday, amid criticism against Han, including by former KMT members Ao Po-sheng (敖博勝) and Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), party sources said that Han critics form the “same group of people” and posed no threat, adding that presidential candidates should be the subject of critique and examination.
Han’s admission to being “somewhat wild” in his youth means that his past poses very little threat, but the possibility of former Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) leaving the party and running as an independent is a real danger, they said.
The party is 100 percent behind Han, as he has received its nomination, another source said, but added that high-ranking KMT officials should seek to contain the possible damage to Han’s campaign that would result if KMT Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Gou leave the party.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
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Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial